Door raising and lowering means for railway cars

ABSTRACT

In conjunction with a railway car having doors on either side which pivot downward to an open position and upward to a closed position, carriages which run upward or downward along an arch over the car, the carriages being adapted to cooperate with top edge portions of doors to raise and lower them.

United States Patent [72] Inventors Calif.94501 [21] AppLNo. 850,174 22 Filed Aug. 14, 1969 [45] Patented Sept. 14,1971

[54] DOOR RAISING AND LOWERING MEANS FOR [50] Field ofSearch 214/38, 41,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,443,317 6/1948 Lancaster 214/44 2,996,020 8/1961 Udstad 105/367 3,182,610 5/1965 Jones 105/368 OTHER REFERENCES Southern Pacific Bulletin 7- 69 pgs. 1- 3 Copy in 105/368 Primary Examiner- Robert G. Sheridan Attorney-Mellin, Moore & Weissenberger ABSTRACT: In conjunction with a railway car having doors on either side which pivot downward to an open position and upward to a closed position, carriages which run upward or downward along an arch over the car, the carriages being adapted to cooperate with top edge portions of doors to raise and lower them.

RAILWAY CARS 5 Claims, 12 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl .J 214/38 R, 49/37, 49/70, 105/368 R [51] Int. Cl 865g 67/02 PATENTED SEP] 4 I311 sum 1 or 4 INVENTORS WILLIAM M. JAEILE RIN FORD GREB NICHOLAS N UDALOFF DONALD W. BULLOCH M w-u PAIENTEU SEN 4 ml SHEET 2 [IF 4 INVENTORS WILLIAM M PAUL GARIN WILLIAM E. THOMFORD WALLACE M. GREB NICHOLAS N. UDALOFF DONALD W. BULLOCH PATENTEI] SEP 1 4 WI SHEEI 3 [IF 4 mw'mgaam PAUL .s RIN WILLIAM E. THOMFAORD WALLACE M. GREB NICHOLAS N UDALOFF DONALD w. BULLOCH PATENTEUSEPMIHYI 3.604575 SHEEI '8 0F 4 F IG.'!

INVENTORY WILUAM M JAE LE PAU p'ja L v 6 IN WILLIAM E. THOMFORD WALLACE M. case NICHOLAS N. UDALOFF DONALD w BULLOCH DOOR RAISING AND LOWERING MEANS FOR RAILWAY CARS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Generally, railway cars are sometimes provided with doors which pivot about their bottomedges downwardly to open and upwardly to close. Such doors may, as one advantage, be pivoted downward to a point where their top edges are adjacent the ground, making loading of the car relatively easy. Such doors may, as another advantage, comprise substantially the complete sides of the cars, providing an extremely large open area into which the load may be placed.

The raising and lowering of these doors is a substantial problem in itself, in that they are generally quite large and heavy, yet must be handled in a completely controlled, safe manner. If the doors are tobe used as load-carrying members themselves, the problem becomes even greater because the raising and lowering of the weights of the loads (which may be quite substantial), in addition to the weights of the doors, must be safely controlled also.

It is an object of the invention to provide apparatus which is capable of properly and safely controlling the raising and lowering of doors of a railway car which are pivotable about their lower edges, whether those doors bear loads or not.

It is a further object of this invention to provide apparatus which, while fulfilling the above object, is simple, inexpensive, and convenient for use.

SUMMARY oF THE INVENTION Broadly stated, in conjunction with a railway car having doors on opposite sides thereof which are pivotal upwardly and downwardly about axes adjacent the bottom edges thereof parallel to the longitudinal axis of the car, the inventive improvement comprises arch means comprising first and second legs extending upward from the ground on either side of the car and joining over the car. A first carriage is movable upwardly and downwardly along the first leg of the arch means. Means are associated with the first carriageto. selectively engage a portion of the top edge of a door on one side of the car, so that the door pivots upwardly and downwardly with the upward and downward movement of the first carriage. A second carriage is movable upwardly and downwardly along the second leg of the arch means, and means'are associated with the second carriage to selectively engage a portion of a top edge of a door on the other side of the car, so that the door pivots upwardly and downwardly with the upward and downward movement of the second carriage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS- These and other objects of this inventionwill become apparent from a study of the following specification and drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus for raisingand lowering the doors of the railway car;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus ofFIG'.-1';

FIG. 3 is a plan view of one of the carriages ofthe' apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 2, showing the fingers thereof not locked in position;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to that ofFIG. 3, but showing the fingers locked in position;

FIG. 5 is a front elevation of the carriage of FIGS.'3 and 4;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation of a finger of a carriage, showing the apparatus for operating such finger;

FIGS. 7-12 are a series of sequential side elevations of the raising and lowering ofa door by the inventive means disclosed herein.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Shown in FIGS. 1 and 2-are the inventivemeans 10 for opening and closing the doors l2 ofa railway car 14, such car 14 being on rails 16 on ground 18. The doors 12 are on opposite sides of the car and pivot upwardly and downwardly about axes adjacent their bottom edges 12A parallel to the longitudinal axis of the car 14. These doors 12 may, of course, be load-supporting members.

Disposed over the car 14 is a substantially semicircular arch 20, made up of a support frame 22 having first and second legs 24, 26 extending upward from the ground 18, being supported by tracks 25, 27 respectively on either side of the car 14, and going over the car 14. The leg 24 defines rails 28, 30 running therealong, on which are positioned the wheels 32 of a carriage 34. Such carriage 34 is thus movable upwardly and downwardly along the leg 24. Such carriage 34 is shown in detail in FIGS. 3-6. As shown therein, carriage 34 is made up of a frame 36 and sideplates 38, 40, by which the wheels 32 are supported. Fingers 42, 44 are pivotally fixed to the sideplates 38, 40 respectively by means of axles 46, 48 respectively, and extend inwardly of the semicircle defined by the arch 20. These fingers are raisable and lowerable by means best shown in FIG. 6.

As shown therein, plate 38 has a jack 50 the body 51 of which is pivotally fixed thereto. Link 52 has one end pivotally connected to the threaded member 54 of jack 50. Link 56 has one end thereof pivotally fixed to the threaded member 54 of the jack 50, and the other end pivotally fixed to the finger 42. It will be seen that turning of the threaded member 54 inwardly of body 51 causes the finger 42 to raise to the position shown in phantom (FIG. 6). Turning of the threaded member outwardly of body 51 causes the finger 42 to lower to the position shown in full (FIG. 6). When the finger 42 is lowered, it may be locket in position by pivot plate 49, fixed to carriage frame 36. Finger 44 has associated therewith a similar plate 53 and raising and lowering means 59.

A carriage 58, similar to carriage 34, is associated with leg 26.

The carriages 34, 58 are raisable and lowerable by means of conveyor cables 60, 62 which run along legs 24, 26 respectively, and are operated by motor means 64.

In the use of this apparatus, assuming a door 12 is in its lowered position, carriage 34 is lowered along leg 24 until finger 42 is adjacent the top edge 12B of door 12 doors 6). The jack 50 then actuated by remote means (not shown), so that finger 42 engages with the top edge 12B of the door 12 by extending into an opening 66 in the top edge 12B of the door 12 (FIGS. 6 and 7). Finger 44; of course, is lowered in the same manner into another opening in the top edge 12B of the door 12. Fingers 42, 44 are then locked into place by pivoting pivot'plates 49, 53 by remote means (not shown). Carrier 34 is then raised by motor means 64 until door 12 is raised to the closed position (FIG. 8).

To lower-the door 12 from its closed position, carriage 34 is raised with the fingers 42, 44 in raised positions until it is in a position where the fingers 42, 44 can be lowered into the openings in the top edge 12B of the door 12 (FIG. 9). Fingers 42, 44 are then locked in place by the pivot plates 49, 53. Carriers 34 is then lowered by motor means 64 (FIG. 11) to its fully open position'(FIG. 12).

It will be understood, of course, that carriage 58, associated with leg 26,0perates in exactly the same way in conjunction with doors 12 on the opposite side of the car 14.

The tracks 25,27 allow the arch 20 to be moved along the car 14 from door to door, and to other cars on the rails 16.

It will be understood that the means 10 may be combined with means (not shown) for automatically unlocking the doors 12 when they are about to be lowered and means (not shown) for ensuring that the fingers thereof cannot be removed after raising the doors 12 until the doors 12 are properly locked in place.

It will be seen that'the apparatus disclosed herein is capable of properlyand safely controlling the raising and lowering of doors of a railway car which are pivotable about their lower edges. This is so whether the doors themselves are load-bearing or not. The unit described, it will also be seen, is quite simple and convenient for use.

We claim:

pivot 1. In conjunction with a railway car having doors on opposite sides thereof which are pivoted upwardly and downwardly about axes adjacent the bottom edges thereof parallel to the longitudinal axis of the car, the improvement which comprises:

a. arch means comprising first and second legs extending upward from the ground on either side of the car and joining together over the car;

b. a first carriage moveable upwardly and downwardly along the first leg of the arch means;

c. means associated with the first carriage to selectively engage a portion of the top edge of a door on one side of the car, so that said door pivots upwardly and downwardly with the upward and downward movement of the first carriage;

d. a second carriage movable upwardly and downwardly along the second leg of the arch means; and

e. mean associated with the second carriage to selectively engage a portion of the top edge of a door on the other side of the car, so that said door pivots upwardly and downwardly with the upward and downward movement of the second carriage 2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means associated with the first and second carriages comprise first and second fingers selectively extendable from the first and second carriages respectively into openings in the top portions of said doors on the one and the other sides of the car.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 and further including:

movement therealong. 4. In conjunction with a railway car having a door pivotal upwardly and downwardly about an axis adjacent its bottom edge parallel to the longitudinal axis of the car, the improvelO ment comprising:

a. a support frame extending upwardly from the ground,

b. means forming in said support frame an arcuate path which has a center of curvature which is generally coincident with said axis of pivotal movement of said door,

c. a carriage member mounted on said support frame for movement upwardly and downwardly along said arcuate path,

(1. means associated with said carriage member to selectively engage a portion of the top edge of said door, so that said door pivots upwardly and downwardly upon movement of said carriage upwardly and downwardly along said path.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4, and further including:

e. rail means disposed parallel to and spaced from said longitudinal axis of said car,

f. means mounting said support frame on said rail means for movement therealong. 

1. In conjunction with a railway car having doors on opposite sides thereof which are pivoted upwardly and downwardly about axes adjacent the bottom edges thereof parallel to the longitudinal axis of the car, the improvement which comprises: a. arch means comprising first and second legs extending upward from the ground on either side of the car and joining together over the car; b. a first carriage moveable upwardly and downwardly along the first leg of the arch means; c. means associated with the first carriage to selectively engage a portion of the top edge of a door on one side of the car, so that said door pivots upwardly and downwardly with the upward and downward movement of the first carriage; d. a second carriage movable upwardly and downwardly along the second leg of the arch means; and e. mean associated with the second carriage to selectively engage a portion of the top edge of a door on the other side of the car, so that said door pivots upwardly and downwardly with the upward and downward movement of the second carriage.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means associated with the first and second carriages comprise first and second fingers selectively extendable from the first and second carriages respectively into openings in the top portions of said doors on the one and the other sides of the car.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 1 and further including: f. first and second rail means disposed adjacent said first and second legs of said arch means, said rail means extending perpendicularly to the paths of movement of said carriages along said legs, g. means mounting said support frame on said rail means for movement therealong.
 4. In conjunction with a railway car having a door pivotal upwardly and downwardly about an axis adjacent its bottom edge parallel to the longitudinal axis of the car, the improvement comprising: a. a support frame extending upwardly from the ground, b. means forming in said support frame an arcuate path which has a center of curvature which is generally coincident with said axis of pivotal movement of said door, c. a carriage member mounted on said support frame for movement upwardly and downwardly along said arcuate path, d. means associated with said carriage member to selectively engage a portion of the top edge of said door, so that said door pivots upwardly and downwardly upon movement of said carriage upwardly and downwardly along said path.
 5. Apparatus according to claim 4, and further including: e. rail means disposed parallel to and spaced from said longitudinal axis of said car, f. means mounting said support frame on said rail means for movement therealong. 